Glide Baits: How to Fish the S-Waver

The popularity of glide baits has exploded in the last 2 years! With their advent, jointed swimbaits went from a warm-water bait to a year-round bait almost overnight. Whether you choose to throw a Roman Made Negotiator, a Deps Slide Swimmer, or an S-Waver, the retrieves that consistently put fish in the boat are completely interchangeable.

After our S-Waver 200 video came out in the spring we received a lot of requests for a video explaining how to fish the bait. Unfortunately we were headed into summer and couldn't address the questions right away. With fall upon us, the glide bait season is in full swing and its time to teach you how to fish these incredibly deadly baits!

Matt and Tim have developed a unique style to fishing these baits that has allowed them to catch numerous giant limits on a variety of lakes and reservoirs. As is often the case with these two, there is great variance in the gear they choose to use. Both have fine tuned their equipment to their own style and both think the other does it wrong. Perhaps you can see through the mire and identify which style you more closely relate to.

Matt comes from a traditional swimbait background and prefers stouter equipment than Tim. Tim comes from a tournament background and prefers a more balanced, (play the fish instead of drag the fish) approach.  

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For the 8" and larger glide baits both anglers use the Dobyns 806H. While this may seem light to a swimbait angler it will be extremely heavy for a traditional tournament guy. We choose this rod because of its great balance, stout backbone, and moderate action. You can sling a giant bait but its not so stout that the fish will bend the hooks. Both anglers also agree on using 65-80 lb braided line with a 30 lb mono leader under most circumstances.

This is where the similarities stop. On occasion Tim will drop down as light as 17 lb fluorocarbon if he's fishing clear water reservoirs. Matt insists that big bass won't shy away from his 30 lb line as long as the leader is of substantial length. Reels are another point of contention between the two anglers. Matt prefers the fit and feel of a traditional round reel for big baits. He loads his rod with Shimano Calcutta in 300 and 400 sizes. Tim on the other hand prefers the relaxed fit and feel of the Abu Garcia Revo 50, insisting that the 60 is too large.

For the 6-8" Glide Baits including the S-Waver 168 the angler's unique styles show themselves again. Matt prefers a Dobyns 764C (traditionally known as a jig rod) for its stout backbone and ability to drive the hooks into the fish. He couples it with either a Lew's BB-1 Pro or Curado 200. Both reels are spooled with 50-65 lb Sufix 832 Braid affixed to a 15-20 lb mono leader.

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Tim on the other hand reaches for the Dobyns 764 CB (Soft cranking rod) for its gentle load and ability to play the fish. He couples it with the Lew's Team Gold Speed Spool filled with 30 lb braid and a 15-20 lb Sunline Flourocarbon Leader.

While the anglers can't agree on their equipment both have proven their technique is effective at landing big bass. Once you've dialed in your gear, the following retrieves will help you turn your followers into committed bites.

4 Retrieves for Glide Baits:

1. The Slow Crawl: As the name insinuates, this retrieve is as easy as it gets. Reel the baits slowly and steadily at the slowest possible speed you can before the bait loses action and starts dragging through the water.

2. The Pull and Glide: This retrieve involves a 6 slow handle turns to get the bait moving followed by a long sweep of the rod. The bait will go from a slow crawl to a fast escape attempt followed by a sweeping left or right turn and is deadly on big followers!

3. The Crawl and Twitch: using a combination of 4-12 slow handle rotations followed by two quick snaps of the rod/reel you can create the appearance of a bait that has been startled. Use this retrieve around cover or when a bass is closely stalking the bait

4. The Walk: Use a combination of the rod tip and reel handle to "walk the dog" with the bait. Fast or slow, the walk will pull incredibly vicious strikes from bass that are chasing bait, in shallow water, or are otherwise acting aggressively.

Use these 4 retrieves the next time you're on the water to turn your favorite glide bait into a fish catcher. Each retrieve has been proven to put big bass in the boat time and time again! As always, if you have questions, comments, or tips of your own, we'd love to hear them!

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Advanced Swimbaits Part 2: Hooking the Fish

Since fisherman argue about nearly every topic presented to them it should come as no surprise that they argue about how and when to set the hook on swimbait fish. What makes this particular discussion so interesting is that both of the anglers involved have proven their method’s effectiveness. I (Matt Allen) believe that a hard and immediate hook set is the key to putting big bass in the boat consistently. On the other side of the fence you have my good friend Sieg Taylor. Sieg prefers to continue reeling then slowly applies hard pressure to the fish. While I staunchly oppose his method I must admit that I’ve seen it work for him on numerous occasions. Take a look at both approaches and then decide for yourself.

Let’s start with my approach:
When I am reeling and feel a fish “tick” my swimbait I hit them hard, really hard. I don’t believe there is any reason to wait. I don’t drop the rod and rear back, I don’t speed up my reeling, I simply swing high and to the side as soon as I feel pressure. I’ve personally seen too many fish suck a swimbait in and spit it back out quicker than the angler can react so why take your time and increase the likelihood of this happening to you? I believe that swimbaits target big bass and that big bass are inherently more cautious than small bass. Waiting to set the hook allows the fish too much time to realize something isn’t right. Setting the hook hard and fast allows you to bury the hooks deep while there is still time. Here is a prime example of my hook-setting style.

Sieg Taylor’s Approach:
Sieg and I spoke over the phone and he had some great insights to share. When asked how he sets the hooks he responded, “I don’t, I let them eat it. Once I know they’ve eaten the bait I reel hard and heavy, then swing them into the boat. Whether they’re 5 pounds or 10 pounds I swing them in.” He went on to share some of his experiences that led to his hook-setting style when he said, “When I won a Won Bass Pro-Am I actually saw it happening. I saw a 9 lber bumping the head of the swimbait over and over again. She would bump one side then the other. She was moving so quickly I could hardly see her motions. Instead of swinging I just kept a steady pace, that is when she inhaled it. The key is to keep reeling at the same speed. If the cadence breaks, you’re in trouble. If you swing and its not in their mouth, they’re gone.” Here is a prime example of Sieg’s hook setting style. If you watch closely you can see the fish has been on for several seconds before he leans back on the rod.

**Sieg asked that I add the true weight of this fish. Upon being weighed she tipped the scales at 8.56 lbs. Those Clearlake fish can be very misleading but Sieg wanted you all to know the final weight.

In closing, I’m not sure there is a right answer. Neither of us will waiver on our methods because we’ve both proven time and time again that they work. The next time you’re on the water give both methods a try then come back and share your experiences with the group. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Until then, make your next day on the water a great one!

Early Spring Swimbait Fish

Spring is fast approaching the West Coast. In the Southern portions of the country its already arrived. If you’ve missed all the previous posts don’t miss this one: Its time to target big pre-spawners. As big bass move toward the spawning areas they become very vulnerable. They often follow distinct features like creek channels, breaks, and hollows as they move into the shallows. By locating these areas you can target the bigger fish as they move through. There are a variety of baits that can be used effectively. In this video I’m using the Mattlures Tournament Swimbait to target fish moving up in Clearlake. These baits are available at tacklewarehouse, here is the link: Mattlures Dark Hitch Swimbait

This bass is by no means a giant but its a female that is making her way into the spawning grounds. This is a prime example of what can be done around the country to catch females before they spawn. By presenting a big bait slowly along the bottom I’m able to specifically target the larger than average females. By applying this to funnels (places the fish have to pass by) I’m able to eliminate a lot of wasted time and energy. Take these techniques, apply them to your local waters and then share your results. I look forward to hearing what you produce.

Winter Swimbait Retrieves

So you’ve decided its finally time to throw a swimbait. You head to your local lake and begin casting the bait around your favorite haunts. You visit a point or two, that break you caught those jig fish on last week, but its been 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 3… make that 4 seconds and you STILL haven’t had a bite!
In the back of your mind you start wondering if you’re doing it right. Maybe you have the wrong bait, Maybe the fish moved, maybe the fish in this lake don’t eat swimbaits, WRONG!
Odds are you simply aren’t fishing the bait slow enough. Welcome to December! If you want to throw a swimbait in December (and you should) there are two kinds of retrieves. The first retrieve is slow, the second is so slow it hurts.

Big bass are inherently lazy. (Thus the belly that helps them get above the 10 lb mark) In most cases they aren’t out roaming around hunting food, least of all in the Winter months. If you want to play the odds go back through the places you just fished and start slowing down. You may be surprised by what happens next!